If you're looking for a chance to interact with like-minded colleagues while strengthening your ostomy education, please consider registering for the award-winning WOCN ® Ostomy Education Day! Take a look at the all-star lineup of speakers and sessions and register (FOR FREE!) by  clicking here. Don't forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, October 2, from 10:00 AM - 5:15 PM ET.

Back for its second year, this full day of free online engagement and education is aimed at  celebrating ostomy awareness, dispelling myths, and increasing ostomy education to improve patient outcomes. It will feature 8 engaging sessions brought to you by experienced wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) nursing professionals and subject matter experts and will award a total of 6.75 Contact Hours.

Contact info@wocn.org for more information.

Cynthia Solomon-Ramos, MS, RN, ACNP-BC

Director, National NOVA Board

NOVA Chapter 420 Secretary/Treasurer, Central Virginia VA HCS, Richmond, VA

Glenda A. Tisdale, DNP, RN

Chief Nurse of Surgical and Specialty Services

NOVA Chapter 274, VA Medical Center, New Hampshire

Dr. Glenda A. Tisdale is currently the Chief Nurse of Surgical and Specialty Services at the Manchester VA Medical Center in New Hampshire. She launched into this new position in 2020 amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a seasoned nurse since the 1990’s and with over 13 years of experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) she accepted this new challenge with a positive, forward-thinking perspective. 

Dr. Tisdale acknowledges that her transformational leadership style has been instrumental in maintaining the strength of her nursing staff during these unprecedented times and has helped guide the department to a higher level of nursing. Through this model, she leads by example to motivate her staff. She values open rapport to help change the system, boost morale, and achieve well-defined goals creatively as a team.

Dr. Tisdale notes that her leadership role has developed and enhanced through a culmination of clinical nursing practice experiences, administrative prowess, and the advancement of her academic pursuits. Her wealth of nursing practice started with a general Medical-Surgical background as a foundation. She expanded her clinical knowledge base with experiences in Mental Health and Emergency Nursing creating a strong cornerstone which she utilized to broaden her career in health care. Her advances in education and academia have allowed her to better understand the need for a global perspective to have a far-reaching impact within nursing practice. Her ability to see the “big” picture and use of critical thinking skills were honed during her educational journey. These are essential tools that are required to be a great communicator in the workplace and in implementing her transformational leadership style.  Dr. Tisdale credits Ms. Loretta Penn, Associate Professor at George Washington University, as being her role model and mentor providing guidance and encouragement throughout her doctorate program. 

Dr. Tisdale expresses that every good leader should possess the ability to show compassion in any situation. Her resolve to continue cultivating her own leadership development includes active participation in leadership and management training sessions, professional networking with other healthcare leaders, and collaboration and team building between all levels in the DVA. Given the immensity of the DVA, she was asked how she tries to prevent the “institution” from dampening the “inspiration”. Dr. Tisdale remains true to her nursing model stating that keeping staff connected to one another, providing opportunities for open communication to share ideas freely, and encouraging shared decision making allows for a more engaged workforce. She would advise those just starting their first leadership position to take every opportunity to learn new skills, listen to others ideas and opinions, and keep an open mind. As a leader, you will be confronted with conflict and divergent opinions. These situations must be addressed expeditiously using emotional intelligence, professionalism, and clear communication. 

Dr. Tisdale reflects favorably on her accomplishments thus far and the many more to be forthcoming.  She credits the DVA as it has provided a multitude of opportunities allowing her to enhance her leadership skills. Dr. Tisdale’s experiences as a nurse leader in the VA have shown her how essential it is to be in a safe work environment with staff who have a common professional goal of caring for our Veterans. 

Dr. Tisdale also commented on the importance of being a NOVA member. She states the NOVA mission to educate, communicate and advocate for professional nurses gives her inspiration to continue learning and passing that inspiration on to other nurse professionals. Nursing has gone through many notable changes since the 1990’s when she started her nursing career. NOVA has been a platform for change and gives nurses a voice at the “proverbial table”.  Nursing's contribution to the decision making process directly affects morale and the thriving advancement of our profession. This is why NOVA is important to her and it is an organization of which she wants to continue to be a part.

The nurse executive role is a specialty with a broad scope and boundless depth. The positioning of nurses within leadership is essential to the success of each VA medical center and facility throughout the DVA.

On behalf of NOVA, I would like to thank Dr. Glenda A. Tisdale for taking the time to answer our leadership questions and providing insight into her specialty practice.

Janene Mason, LPN

Corporal Michael Crescenz VAMC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

NOVA Chapter 348

Janene Mason graduated in 2001 from the Burlington County Institute of Technology (BCIT) in New Jersey. Prior to graduation , she was a  nursing assistant in Rhode Island. Janene moved to New Jersey and worked as a unit clerk on a ventilator/medical surgical unit at Our Lady of Lourdes in Camden, NJ and a telemetry unit at Robert Wood Johnson in Hamilton, NJ. Janine recalls “I loved telemetry; watching the electrical impulses and seeing them on the screen was fascinating to me.”  while working as a unit clerk, she took advantage of the education benefits available and obtained her LPN license.

After obtaining her licensure, Janene worked at St. Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne, PA on a 50-bed telemetry unit and in the Emergency Room (ER) at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a fast track area with an Emergency Severity Index (ESI) level 4 - 5 in the heart of West Philadelphia. She gained valuable clinical experience titrating heparin drips, drawing labs, interpreting EKG rhythm strips, providing patient education, administering medications, and assisting with codes. There were a lot of codes in the ER, and Janene wanted to help everyone in the department by increasing her competency so she spoke to her nurse manager about becoming ACLS certified. Her nurse manager supported her request and Janene became ACLS certified.

Janene left the ER at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and came to the Philadelphia VA. She was hired for a telemetry unit and worked there for a year. Janene missed the ER, so she applied and was selected for a position in the ER at the Philadelphia VA. She continued in this position for 8 yrs. Janene then applied for a LPN position in Dermatology where she currently works. Janene, along with an attending provider, runs a Sculptra clinic. She also assists with biopsies and minor skin cancer surgeries, photographs lesions and uploads them into the computerized patient record system. Janene has received phototherapy training for various skin conditions like psoriasis, Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma (CTC), vitiligo, and general itch, and applies patch testing. 

Janene is the Secretary of the NOVA Chapter 348 Board. She loves that NOVA empowers LPNs to have a voice to positively impact nursing practice and processes. Janene is honored to represent, mentor and advance LPNs who work at the VA.  Prior to the pandemic, Janene attended a NOVA webinar entitled: "How to Advance for LPNs''  The webinar empowered her to educate her nurse manager in ways that  LPNs can be promoted to a GS 7. The manager then shared this information with upper leadership and other personnel. When the pandemic hit, the push for this upgrade took a back seat. However, Janene received an email recently that the initiative to upgrade LPNs that qualify for GS-7 is in full effect. NOVA Chapter 348 President Eula Davis commented, “What Janene did is the perfect example of how NOVA empowers nurses to make a difference when you have the knowledge because knowledge is power.”

Kelly D. Skinner, DNP, APRN, NP-C, GNP-BC, CRRN, WCC, CFCN

VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA

NOVA Chapter 226

Meet & Greet

NOVA Chapter 226 hosted a Meet & Greet at Bay Pointe Waterfront Restaurant in Quincy, MA on Thursday, June 24, 2021. We seized the opportunity to relax and socialize at this outdoor event with a picturesque water view. What could be better than  to wine and dine with our fellow NOVA Chapter 226 members on a deck overlooking the marina after work? It was the perfect start to the summer of 2021.

In Attendance: Julie Szegda, Rachel McLean, Pam Jones, Jose Dos Anjos, Devon Alves, Marsha Auguste, Nacha Pierre, Edvania Greeley, Melinda Shackelford, Danielle Newman, Casey Hightower, Kattie Davis, Anastasia Aryee, Kelly D. Skinner, Nancy Connors, Valentina Ward, Kim Claude, Chizoba Nwosu, Sandra Terry, Theresa Presley, Maureen McDonald, Samentha St. Pierre, and Diane Acerra.

Teresa Morris, NOVA Director, Advocacy & Government Relations

Greetings NOVA Members –

As we enter into the last few months of the first session of the 117th Congress, I hope all of you have had the chance to speak to your legislators about important VA issues. NOVA continues to dialogue with Hill staff about pay caps, staffing levels, vaccine efforts, access standards, the upcoming Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission and other items that will have long-term effects on the VA and its delivery of care to Veterans.

Congress was in recess for all of August and a part of September with many members holding Town Hall meetings and other forums to speak to their constituents. As most of you know from reading this newsletter or from my webinars on advocacy – your voice is critical to helping Congress understand what is happening on the ground level at each and every VA facility in which you work. Bills and policies are written and passed based on issues that arise among conversations with the Member of Congress and Senators in your state.

I urge all of you to continue to discuss NOVA priorities and other critical VA issues important to you and the Veterans you serve. All House of Representatives and Senators have offices located in the District/State and continue to meet virtually with some hosting in-person meetings. Check their individual websites for COVID-19 guidance.

Other important items include FY 2022 funding for VA, both House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees have cleared about $270 billion in total discretionary with $97.5 billion for Medical Care.

For US House of Representatives: Homepage | house.gov

For US Senators: U.S. Senate: Senators

For a complete list of NOVA letters and congressional testimony, visit the NOVA website  Understand the Issues (vanurse.org)

For a list of our complete 2021 legislative priority goals: 2021_nova_legislative_priori.pdf (ymaws.com)

Stay Tuned!